The masks, and President Trump’s refusal to wear one, were central to the Senate health committee hearing Tuesday, when Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the committee, asked the president to set a better example by covering himself the face occasionally.
Earlier in the hearing, Alexander, a Republican, regretted that wearing a mask “would have become part of the political debate” and said that “he had suggested that the president occasionally wear a mask, although in most cases” . Trump does not need to.
“The president has many admirers,” said Alexander. “They would follow his example, it would help to end this political debate. The stakes are high for this political debate on pro-Trump and anti-Trump to continue. “
The senator’s comments, an echo of the comments he made over the weekend, were a striking example of a Republican who criticized the president by name. As they have in the past, health experts emphasized that the masks were essential to contain the virus, although they avoided the direct mention of Trump.
“We recommend masks for everyone outside, anyone who comes into contact in a busy area,” Dr. Fauci said in the hearing. “You should avoid crowds whenever possible. And when you’re outside and you don’t have the ability to keep your distance, you should wear a mask at all times. “
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, also noted the mixed messages.
“While our panelists are telling us the importance of wearing masks, the President of the United States is retweeting articles: he retweets people who criticize how people look when they wear masks,” Murphy said.
“So we have these two parallel messaging operations, and I think it’s worth stipulating that everything we hear today is based on evidence,” the senator continued. “But today’s representatives have social media followers of about five million people. The President of the United States has a following of around 82 million. You can understand why people are confused out there.
